People in the News

Staff Report
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Mar 9, 2007 at 12:03 PM

NEW YORK - Kate Walsh has something in common with the sexy neonatal surgeon she plays on ABC's hit medical drama "Grey's Anatomy": love issues.

"Sometimes I feel like, â€˜What am I doing? Am I becoming my character, or is my character becoming me?'" she says in an interview in Best Life magazine's April issue, on newsstands Tuesday. "I'm starting to get a little superstitious here. I definitely identify with my character in that, romantically at least, this is not where I thought I'd be at 39."

Walsh was a regular on "The Drew Carey Show" and appeared on other series including "Karen Sisco" and "The Fugitive" before getting her big break on "Grey's Anatomy." Last month, Walt Disney Co.-owned ABC said it was planning to air a special two-hour episode featuring Walsh and guest starring Taye Diggs, as a test run for a possible new series.

"I feel torn between having the time of my life and wanting very serious things, like a surplus of love for a family and all that," Walsh says.

"But what's in front of me right now is work. Often, I think it would have been so great if this success had happened when I was 27 or 28, but then again, I wouldn't have had the maturity then to deal with it and not end up in rehab."

Walsh finds the boundaries between herself and her character beginning to blur, perhaps a bit more than feels entirely comfortable.

"With an hour-long drama, you start playing a little closer to who you are, because the writers hear you and are around you and they start writing for you," she says, explaining how her character has become more vulnerable and complex.

Asked for her reaction to the blowup over castmate Isaiah Washington's anti-gay slur about co-star T.R. Knight, Walsh says there has been "no fallout on the set, really." She adds: "It was definitely sad. It's annoying. And it eclipsed our Golden Globes win, which I was upset about."

LONDON - Johnny Depp's 7-year-old daughter, who has reportedly been receiving treatment in a British hospital, is "much better," the star's publicist said Thursday.

Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper reported that Lily-Rose, daughter of Depp and French singer Vanessa Paradis, was admitted to a hospital nine days ago and was in a serious condition. The newspaper said Thursday it knew the location of the hospital and the nature of the child's ailment, but wasn't revealing details to preserve the family's privacy.

"We are happy to report that their daughter is doing much better," said Depp's publicist, Robin Baum. "The family greatly appreciates the continued support and respect of their privacy."

Depp, 43, is in Britain to film "Sweeney Todd," director Tim Burton's musical about the legendary "demon barber of Fleet Street."